


won’t be late for this, late for that (late for the love of my life)

by julesby10



Category: RWBY
Genre: (for now) - Freeform, Beacon dance, Episode: v02e07 Dance Dance Infiltration, F/F, Love Confessions, Minor Pyrrha Nikos/Yang Xiao Long, Minor Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Missing Scene, Mutual Pining, Unrequited Love, What-If, Yang Xiao Long Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21659899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julesby10/pseuds/julesby10
Summary: "Technically, though my first dance is spoken for."Yang is more aware of her feelings than ever before, Blake wants to know but gets distracted. Yang has an insightful conversation with Ruby.Weiss exists and Pyrrha is there to steal your heart.What happened during Yang and Blake's first dance that we didn't get to see and the aftermath of hidden feelings and fears.Based on @frankielucky 's comic on Tumblr (you know, the one).
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Pyrrha Nikos/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 8
Kudos: 144





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HEYA! As soon as I saw @frankielucky‘s latest Bees comic I was thrown out of my writer’s block and I got a little sumthin down! 
> 
> I’m writing as she’s drawing so I may change things up a lil bit, should the occasion arise. Hope you like it!!
> 
> You can find Pt. 1 of the comic right here : https://frankielucky.tumblr.com/post/189343691723/part-1-woaaaah-just-wanted-to-take-this

Yang has been at reception for a while now.

She gets in with Weiss, who’s looking spotless as she usually does, if a little dejected. She doesn’t let it show and Yang says nothing.

She greets Ren in a suit and an overexcited Nora in a very pretty pink dress, exuberant just as she is.

She welcomes her sister with a smile and a laugh at her hate for heels. Ruby has admittedly never been a socialite, but she’s getting better.

Yang is distracted when she hears a familiar smooth voice.

“Good evening, Yang.”

There is a smile hiding in those simple, courteous words. Yang lifts her eyes to be met with striking emerald green.

Pyrrha.

A sigh of awe escapes Yang’s lips as she briefly looks over Pyrrha’s form. She’s in a gorgeous red dress, ankle-length and the same shade of her fiery hair. People have called her a goddess, and if Yang had not seen her in battle, she sure would believe it now.

“Pyrrha! You made it!”

No one is holding her arm, her hands are crossed at the wrist in front of her, politely, just enough to show the matching bracelet to her tiara.

“Alone too, huh.”

 _Too_ , but Yang won’t admit her own lack of a partner, she’s fine with being alone, to be honest. Isn’t she?

Yang leans forward, one elbow on the wooden podium in front of her, cheek on her palm. She smirks, amused, but not surprised.

“… y’know, he’s a sweet guy.”

And Pyrrha’s face turns a darker shade of red.

“But he’s also an idiot who’s missing out.”

Yang knows of her troubles, she’s always had a nose for these things, but really, anybody who’s close enough would notice. Except maybe her sister, still not that much interested in the matters of the heart, but Yang has seen the way she looks at Weiss so who knows.

Pyrrha welcomes her words with an apologetic smile, as if she was the one who needed to say sorry.

Pyrrha is a great fighter, she’s gorgeous, smart and, c’mon, she is a genuinely good person. She really doesn’t deserve to be ignored. Or left alone during a dance.

A very small part of Yang wonders how it would be if they both weren’t longing for different people, if they could be each other’s right person. It would be comfortable, but she’s not sure it would feel _right_. It would be easier.

Yang then takes the initiative, because it’s what Yang does best, right? Confidence. She likes Pyrrha, she really does, but in the end her heart lies elsewhere. So, what’s the harm?

She takes Pyrrha’s hand in hers, feeling soft fingers brush against her own roughed up ones. She gets a glance at her wristwatch and wonders for a second if _she_ will show up.

“What do you say, Pyr, you and me to this dance?”

Yang says it theatrically, a hand on her heart and a smile on her lips. Pyrrha giggles in that charming way of hers that makes an entire room turn to her and hides her bright smile behind a polite hand. Her eyes shine for a moment.

“That would be lovely.”

Pyrrha always knew she had a thing for tall, blond and loud. Yang is so nice to be around. She has a terrible sense of humour and a smile for everyone, she’s strong and hot-headed, emotional but never in a bad way. Pyrrha really does like her, at the end of the day. She thinks being with Yang would be simple.

But she has seen how Yang perks up as soon as she sees black hair, how she looks at _her_ like someone seeing a work of art for the first time. Yang is lost into someone else and she’s so obvious she doesn’t seem to be aware.

“But I know I’m not the one you’re looking at.”

Yang doesn’t know if the hint of regret in Pyrrha’s voice is meant to be there, but it is. It stings.

She _has_ been looking at someone else and she can only wonder if that someone is looking back.

“And while Jaune doesn’t see me… she sees you.”

It’s then that Sun and Blake make their way up the steps in front of the entrance, Sun chatting up about this and that. Blake immediately notices Yang in her white, simple, beautiful dress. She knew she would be right there at the door. The presence of red, she can’t ignore either.

Blake stiffens, back straightening as she lets go of Sun’s arm. He doesn’t seem to notice, or care, though. As they get closer, Blake tricks herself into hoping Yang was only there for her and a light blush spreads on her cheeks.

Yang sees Blake. As per Pyrrha’s prediction, the corners of her lilac eyes immediately lift up imperceptibly.

When Yang tries to protest against her knowing look, - _“I- wha! No!”_ \- Pyrrha has half a mind to just shove her into Blake’s arms, but she doesn’t. She pinches her cheek instead, in a friendly way, grounding, reassuring. She’s sighing as her smirk morphs into something more open.

“These things slip by quick. Let’s not waste time being conflicted.”

Then Pyrrha leans forward and plants a gentle kiss on Yang’s warm cheek.

“Enjoy your night, Yang.”

It would be so much easier.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Pt. 2 of the bees comic : https://dlartistanon.tumblr.com/post/189357214168

Yang is still stunned by Pyrrha’s light kiss when Sun greets her loudly, as friendly as he can be.

“Yo, Xiao Long!”

He raises a hand just to make it clearer he’s talking to Yang, but Yang’s focus is really somewhere else right now, on deep purple and black. Still, she plays the game.

Blake isn’t really looking at her right now.

“Are you wearing a buttoned shirt and tie, Wukong?” she asks, teasing and sarcastic and _confident_.

“Hey, I can pull off the classy look too.”

Blake _glances_ at her but doesn’t feel like interrupting the banter, she doesn’t stop Sun when he steps forward to wrap an arm around Yang’s shoulders, the same way he would do to any other guy.

“You clean up well too!”

“Starting to get worried about the competition, Sun?”

“What? No way, dude. I’ll worry when you can lift more than me.”

“Please! I can double that and squat you on top of- “

“Okay!”

The voice rings in Yang’s ears and her teasing smile falters for a second.

“Before you steal my partner,” Blake says, grabbing her by the arm with both hands, tugging gently. “I believe she promised me a dance.”

Her eyes are soft, and Yang wonders how she was ever scared to look into them, pools of warm amber boring into her own lilac.

Blake is beautiful, all warm colours and blacks and purples and slight smiles. Her dress hugs her just the right way and-

“A deal’s a deal, Ms. Belladonna.”

Her hand feels like home as Sun leaves to find Neptune and Yang is led to the dancefloor.

Yang is confident, so she answers with snarky comments and cockiness. Not with Blake.

Blake leaves her speechless, a desert replacing her mouth, Blake leaves her yearning for longer touches, when they spar, when they train, when they talk. Blake is everything she’s always imagined her soulmate would be and _so much more_. But can she be Blake’s soulmate?

Blake turns around and places her palms on Yang’s shoulders, not looking her in the eyes, but she does as soon as she notices Yang isn’t moving at all, hesitating as she seems to do a lot lately.

She’s nervous, and her anxiety ripples down her skin in shivers, like every one of her emotions does. Anger is bright red and terrifying, sadness is blue and hidden away, happiness is yellow and reassuring. Nervousness is black like her pupils that take up most of the space in her eyes.

“Why are you so nervous?”

Yang flares up when Blake takes her by the wrists and places Yang’s hands on her hips. Blake is gentle, questioning but not prodding. Then her smile takes on something mischievous and Yang is almost startled by how fast her heart is beating.

“Yang…”

And her thumbs are tracing the line of her collarbones, feather-like.

“Do I need to teach you how to dance?”

Oh. So, this is what they’re doing. Yang can get behind playful banter. She feels a smile stretch her lips.

“Hah! Are you kidding?” If anything, _I_ should be teaching you!”

Blake laughs, a whisper. Then she takes half a step back, a theatrically pensive hand on her mouth.

“I don’t know, I’m pretty light on my feet.”

God, Yang thinks, she is. And she’s beautiful. Stealth has never been Yang’s forte, she’s always been more of a hands-on approach type of person, a brawler. But Blake hides in the shadows and comes out when you less expect it to gracefully strike a lethal blow. Yang fell for that trap too.

Yang feels like her heart has been murdered in the best way possible.

She loves this girl, yes sir, she does. And it’s kind of hard to realise.

Blake feels fingers move from her hip to her back, as Yang’s free hand grabs her own, pulling her in.

Blake blushes in front of the confidence that intrigued her so much in the first place, the smile that reminded her so much of sunshine and warmth. She’s flying close to the sun.

“Then you should have no problem keeping up, right?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously considered changing the title of the fic, but you know what? I wanted to be hopeful. Also sorry for the delay, an essay was kicking my ass. Enjoy!
> 
> Part three of the comic : https://frankielucky.tumblr.com/post/189429795563/prev-part-4-a-successful-confession-not-in-my

She hasn’t.

Unsurprisingly Yang is a very good dancer and Blake’s dancing lessons come back to her like second nature. They work in perfect synch - how could they _not_ – and they laugh, laugh so much their cheeks hurt and they can’t seem to be capable of anything else. Anything else than being happy together.

Yang’s hands are always careful, on her hips, on her back, intertwined with her own.

Her smile is white and happy and carefree, and Blake feels like it’s only the two of them. It will always be the two of them. She used to feel alone in a room full of people, but Yang’s presence is enough to reassure her that it won’t happen again, no matter how the shadows of her past try to bite at her ankles.

Yang lifts her up as if she weighed nothing and Blake calls out her name, laughing like a child getting a surprise piggyback ride as her heart skips a beat to match the rhythm of the music. Carefree. It’s been a long, long time since she’s felt this way.

They are so close Yang has no idea how to feel anymore if not grateful she lived long enough to be part of this moment.

They look each other in the eyes and there is tenderness and wanting, and maybe just a spark of desire.

They are inches away and Yang knows she’ll miss this contact as soon as it’ll end. She won’t overstep the line she’s drawn for herself, but Blake’s lips are _very_ distracting.

There’s that smell of flowers, flowers that Yang can’t ever recognize, but they feel like spring and new beginnings.

The music slows down and Blake leans in closer, still feeling like she just went through a sugar high, but without the side effects. She can smell lemongrass and that slight hint of gunpowder that never quite disappears from Yang’s warm skin.

They close their eyes and enjoy the stillness for the time of a heartbeat, and Yang intertwines their fingers. Blake lets her.

“So… Pyrrha, huh. Did you– Did she come alone?”

Blake wanted to ask, and they’ve promised honesty, the four of them. Yang has always granted it.

“Mhm, Jaune never got the hint.”

Yang’s voice is low and rumbling, and Blake can hear the vibrations so close to her ear she shivers. Her hand is firm on her lower back, protecting.

“You’d think after all that time together he’d notice if his partner was developing feelings for him.”

Yang doesn’t really want to look at Blake now. Is that sentence meant to mean something more? Or is she, as always, reading way too much into it?

“Yeah…You’d think you’d notice something like that.”

Hesitant.

Yang is calling out and seeing if Blake has her eyes open enough to catch her. She doesn’t know which option’s best: Blake really not noticing or her just acting oblivious. In both cases, it would be safer to shut up and lock her feelings in a box meant for jewels but throw away the key.

She doesn’t do that.

She takes both of Blake’s hands instead and Blake is caught by surprise.

“Yang?”

She’s not afraid, only kind of confused.

Yang takes a breath in and it feels like an eternity.

“Blake… I- “

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Kudos to you if you're as obsessed with RWBY as I am and catch the V7 reference)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY! @frankielucky‘s Bees comic (pt.4) out now! I am ecstatic because, for once in my life, I am being consistent with my writing! So here you go!!  
> A bit of a shorter chapter, I know, and also late af, but I'm trying my best!!

“I l- “

Sun’s laughing, loud as always, and it’s not like they’re in a quiet place either.

Blake turns around, attention caught by the commotion he and Neptune are making.

Yang lets go of her wrists and Blake doesn’t notice.

Sun waves in a stupid way, so _him_ , and Blake waves back, smiling lopsidedly and scoffing. He always tries so hard with her.

Oh.

Yang feels the speck of courage she’d found flicker and then die slowly, taking its warmth away with it.

She steps forward again and places her palms on the cheeks of a perplexed Blake.

Blake has no idea what Yang is going to do but she has no reason not to trust her. One of her hands involuntarily slips on Yang’s forearm, close to the wrist. The pulse there is strong, and it tells her of life and adrenaline and unspoken words.

Lilac is… a really beautiful colour.

Yang pinches both her cheeks, the same way Pyrrha did to her not even an hour prior. It’s meant to be friendly, it’s meant to be a distraction.

Blake suppresses the hint of disappointment she feels curling up around her collarbones. She’s not smiling.

“What was that for?”

Yang lifts her hands in front of her defensively, a playful grin and her tongue out in the most innocent expression she can muster now.

“Haha, sorry, you were being too cute.”

Excuses that sound fake to her own ears, but she won’t let the hurt show because it’s what Yang does best, right? Confidence.

“What!”

Blake wants to know, dies to know. She didn’t hear even if she was what should be considered too close for comfort, but the lines are so blurred sometimes she forgets where she ends and Yang begins. It’s like they belong next to each other and Blake doesn’t know if she ever believed in soulmates, but she knows the way she feels around Yang.

“Wait, what were you saying before that?”

“Ah! Our song is almost over! One last spin! One last spin!”

Yang tells herself to ignore the stain of plead in Blake’s voice and takes the easy route - _this is not easy at all._

She doesn’t want her words to be a burden because they get deep when they talk, inevitably, and now it’s not the time. Maybe it will never be. So, jewel box it is.

Blake has no further questions and she’s smiling so bright as Yang spins her around, Yang’s whole world is tinted golden.

The transition between her and Sun is seamless, she lets go of Blake’s hand, bows, Sun takes her place.

He’s funny and handsome and protective and _good_.

“It’s been a pleasure, Ms Belladonna. Mr Wukong.”

Blake is clearly having fun and Yang does need to brag a little to her sister and Weiss.

She greets them at the edge of the dance floor, side by side and chatting about nothing in particular, her sister still unsteady in her heels.

Yang loops an arm around her shoulders and turns to the dancefloor where those two seem to be having the time of their lives.

“Told you she’d come.”

_But she’s not here for you._

Weiss is smiling faintly, probably still bitter about her own solitude. She’s genuinely happy for Blake though.

“Mission accomplished.”

“What do we do now?” Ruby asks.

Yang loves that Blake is having fun and laughing and just overall enjoying herself, but she hates that it’s not with her. She misses the warmth.

“Just have fun!”

Liar, she wouldn’t believe herself for a second.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY! @frankielucky‘s Bees comic (pt.5: https://frankielucky.tumblr.com/post/189477287683/part-5) out now! I am super late, considering the comic was posted more than two weeks ago but!! Here it is, part 5! I’ll see what to do with a hypothetical part 6.
> 
> Enjoy!

She’s always loved people watching, more so when it was people close to her.

Watching her friends interact now is as amusing as it will always be, especially considering she’s standing high on a balcony, sheltered and allowed to lose herself in other’s lives for a while.

Her sister is beside her.

“You know… I think we really needed this.”

It’s said casually, in a way it’s not a lie at all. 

The whole mess with Torchwick took a toll on all of them, even if Blake bore the brunt of it.

Ruby smiles. “You did a great job planning it too.”

Yang loops an arm around her sister’s shoulders. It became a habit a long time ago and she never let go of it.

“Aw, thanks! Weiss did a lot too though!”

Which is so true. Working side by side with her has let Yang into the more romantic side of the Schnee heiress. It was endearing, seeing her so invested in things some people would dismiss as small and unimportant. And, in the end, Weiss also got her date, as Yang can see from up high.

All’s well all that ends well, no?

“I guess tomorrow it’s back to work,” Yang says with a sigh. Training will be a welcome distraction from her feelings. She feels like a full glass, ready to spill at the slightest touch. It’s exhausting.

“Well, I’m sure we can handle whatever gets thrown at us.”

That is such a Ruby thing to say, so hopeful, so willing to believe in something brighter.

Yang wishes she had inherited some of that too.

Laughter from downstairs makes both of them turn to the dancefloor, where Jaune, now in a white dress, is asking Pyrrha to dance.

“Except… for that.”

Ruby’s almost laughing when she says that, not mocking, but amused, Jaune is certainly the last person she’d imagined in a dress. Yang has no idea what happened, but she melts into a smile, her palm holding her cheek.

Pyrrha’s laughter rings out, happy and warm. It almost reignites the spark that Yang had thought gone.

“Guess you were wrong this time, Pyr. He does see you.”

They’re dancing to an upbeat rhythm, flushed and not worrying about what’s to come. Yang is pretty sure Jaune is still oblivious, but at least he’s a good friend.

Friends.

Yang would like to think the reason for Blake’s presence tonight was a little more than friendship, but she’s likely delusional. 

“And Blake-”

“Wouldn’t be here without you. And…”

Ruby doesn’t turn to look at her sister, she keeps staring down at team JNPR having what is basically a dance-off.

“Could’ve been here with you.”

Yang feels herself cringing, and brings both her hands to her mouth in a futile attempt at hiding a blush, he shoulders hunching as if she could hide in the non-existent neckline of her dress.

“Am I that obvious?”

Ruby giggles, and finally looks Yang in the eye. She winks.

“You glow a little around her.”

She gestures with her fingers and Yang almost has the instinct to reach up and touch her own hair. 

“What! I do not.”

Her feelings couldn’t be strong enough to tap into her semblance, could they?

“Okay, fine. Maybe not literally,” Ruby concedes, shrugging and rolling her eyes.

Yang deflates and tries to keep her gaze off of the mane of dark hair moving around downstairs.

“Blake has a lot on her mind right now,” she says, her voice unusually small and demure. She feels her heart ache for a moment. “The last thing she needs is a crushing teammate.”

Now’s not the time. These moments are made to unwind and Yang confessing her feelings would be anything but, if love has on Blake any of the effects it has on Yang, who becomes a coil of nerves every time she even comes close to speaking the words.

Ruby scoots closer, both her arms on the balcony and her chin resting on them.

“What about what’s on your mind?”

Yang smiles, confident.

“People leave, it’s natural. To me, at least.”

That kind of hurts, but it’s like an old scar now. People have left and she was left to fend for herself - and Ruby.

Her confidence has a hard time sticking when she’s forcing it like this, when she’s with her sister. So she spills.

“But Blake is my partner, y’know?”

It feels nice to say that, partner. It feels familiar and reassuring, grounding just as Blake’s presence usually is. But Yang refuses to get too attached, she said it herself, that people leave.

“If I tell her and…”  
Yang grips the railing, gritting her teeth. She knows the pricking of tears behind her eyes and she’s learned to recognize the way the thought of not having Blake by her side creeps around her bones and squeezes till they break.

Her hands go around her to hug herself into comfort.

“I don’t know what I’d do… If she left again.”

That last part is said in a whisper, just as fragile as she feels.

Ruby glances at her, her expression neutral and level. A small part of Yang knows to be wary of that side of her, because logic can be delivered with very sharp words and a silver tongue rarely does any good. She’s not like that, though, not with Yang.

“Worrying about people leaving… isn’t that just leaving first? How do you build a connection with a person who’s acting like you’re already gone?”

It’s true, she’s right. Yang has always been there for Ruby, but at the same time assumed the rest of the world would eventually leave her alone. Distancing herself and putting up walls - smiles, laughter, confidence - had become easy at a certain point, certainly easier than getting her heart and hopes broken all over again.

This time something inside Yang tells her to trust her partner, her teammates. If she can trust Blake to save her life on the battlefield, then she can trust her with her heart.

Just… not tonight.

Yang has barely noticed Ruby’s hand on her shoulder, but now she pulls her in a side hug. She wants her close and Ruby laughs at the gesture, not one bit annoyed as she often pretends to be when Yang is too pushy with her affection.

“Spoken like a team leader, Rubes!”

Yang nuzzles her hair, that smells of shampoo and roses, as usual.

“Not really, but okay,” Ruby giggles, pushing into her sister.

It’s been a while since she’s done this, but Yang closes her eyes and leaves a gentle kiss on Ruby’s hair. She is reminded of when Ruby was still a child and she would hold her and tell her stories.

“I love you, baby girl.”

“I love you too, sis.”

Ruby grabs Yang’s hand and intertwines their fingers. It’s warm.

“And, for what it’s worth, I’m not going anywhere.”


End file.
